Falling Blossom
by Shelbey
Summary: A tear slid down her cheek and he reached out to comfort her, but the boundary between student and teacher made him stop, like an invisible wall between them. She looked so lost, so broken: a withered cherry blossom. [KakaSaku] [One Shot] [R&R Please]


**Title**: Falling Blossom

**Author**: Hitachiin Hikaru

**Fandom**: Naruto

**Rating**: "T" for language I suppose

**Genre**: Romance

**Disclaimer**: I don't own any part of Naruto, including characters, cities, towns, scenarios, titles, or anything else about it that you can think of. I just want to express my creative intent with this fic. Sad… so sad.

**Summary**: A tear slid down her cheek and he reached out to comfort her, but the boundary between student and teacher made him stop, like an invisible wall between them. She looked so lost, so broken: a withered cherry blossom. KakaSaku One Shot R&R Please

**A/N**: Well, I've written **two** SakuSasu, and now it's time for a KakaSaku. I'm kind of on the fritz here, so please give me some credit okay? I really tried hard at this, but I'm afraid it can't match up to some of the other ones I've see on this site. (cries)

It seemed that giving up was the only choice Sakura had now. Nothing was left for her anymore. Konohagakure seemed to be nothing but a ghost town to her anymore. Sure she had the hospital, but as a day to day basis all it did was take her thoughts away from the overbearing truth. Naruto had been gone for months now, trying to fulfill a promise he had made for her, but there had been no word from him in weeks. Sasuke… well, she had given up on the Uchiha years ago, when she knew he was never going to come back, that Orochimaru had probably used the onyx-haired, pretty-boy for his container by now. Pessimistic to be sure, but what was the rose-haired kunoichi supposed to think? That he'd one day come back and tell her that, _yes,_ _all along I loved you? _That_ I'd come back because I had to see you again_? As if. No, she never believed that was going to happen.

After Naruto had left, the girl seemed to have fallen off the face of the earth. Ino decided to go off and get married to Shikamaru, Tenten and Neji were engaged, and Hinata was waiting for the blond to get back home. The Hyuuga heiress spoke to her for a long while, but the two just grew apart after a while. In the end, Sakura became something like the ghost of Konoha. Something that lingered behind, a remnant of the past, meant to be forgotten but never really gone. Day by day, she woke up, went to the hospital to work, and came home. Nothing noteworthy, nothing that differed in her schedule.

"Just make sure you keep ice on that," the rose-haired jounin told the young shinobi that had sprained his ankle during training. "Chakra can only do so much." The little boy nodded at the forlorn kunoichi and gave her a heartfelt smile. Hers was hollow as she returned the favor, and glanced at the clock on the wall. _Time to go home_, she thought, pulling on her coat over her medic outfit. _Finally._ Without even saying goodbye to Shizune or Tsunade, who were working there at the time, she exited the facility into the freezing rain outside. She stepped carefully down the steps from the hospital and into a puddle at the foot. Her sandals got soaked, and her feet almost instantly became numb, but she didn't care. Turning left, she decided to take the long way home; for the sooner she got there the faster the painful memories would return with full force.

She passed by the Yamanaka flower shop, and saw warm lights emanating inside as Shikamaru and Ino chatted around some of the arrangements. Ino might've called out to her as she walked by, but she really didn't hear it, and kept moving. Inside the Hyuuga complex, she heard the cheerful voices of some of her other friends, Hinata and Tenten, and Neji, but just hurried by to get them out of her head. Who would remember a cherry blossom that had descended from the tree, like those did at the end of spring? She had faded a long time ago, not that anyone would bother to grab hold of her.

She strode atop a fence next to the sidewalk, a few feet down on one side, and about twenty on the other. The dip led down to a training ground. Sighing she glanced up at the stormy clouds, watching the drops fall around her. They seemed to reflect her melancholy disposition, and felt her short hair get weighed down by the heavy water. A misstep in the puddle in front of her sent Sakura stumbling over her foot, and sliding off the stone wall on the taller side. She glanced, startled, at the ground, too shocked to do anything right off the bat.

The falling girl heard the sound of someone kicking off from the ground, and felt herself caught in a warm embrace. She buried her face in the person's shoulder, and held still as they landed back on the ground. They told her, in a familiar voice, "I expected a little bit more carefulness from you, Sakura." She blinked her emerald eyes, and glanced up at her former teacher.

"Kakashi-sensei?" she questioned, searching his only visible black eye for a moment. Inner Sakura called, _He's not your sensei any more! He's Number One Hottie of Konoha, cha!_ The pale girl ignored her inner self, feeling a blush creep up onto her cheeks, as Kakashi set her back on the ground, his hand still lingering on her waist. "Thanks, for that."

The silver haired jounin wasn't stupid; in fact he was on Shikamaru's line of intelligence, and was very observant; exceedingly so even for a ninja. So he knew when something was wrong with someone he's known for seven years straight. "What's wrong Sakura?" he questioned, giving her a worried look. "Usually you're much more alert than that." She blinked and sighed, moving away from the warmth of his gloved hand.

The medic-nin replied, a bitter smiled on her face, "I've just been wondering, who would catch a falling cherry blossom… at the end of spring?" He furrowed his brow, and wondered uncertainly, _What's she… talking about? _"Long after she wilted, and lost her life, who would bother to keep her? Something so dull and colorless," she shook her head and let her pink locks fan out around her. A tear slid down her cheek and he reached out to comfort her, but the boundary between student and teacher made him stop, like an invisible wall between them. She looked so lost, so broken: a withered cherry blossom. "Who would want to keep her?"

Sighing, Kakashi placed his hands on her rain-soaked shoulders, and she glanced up to see him smiling at her. Well, at least it looked like he was smiling. His eye was closed, and his cheeks were uplifted under the mask. "Sakura," he told her and she tilted her head. He opened his only visible eye opened, and she saw such a soft look in it that she had never seen before. "Do you really think that no one would want to keep you?" She grunted softly in surprise, and furrowed her pink eyebrows together. "If that was the truth, why would I have bothered catching you when you fell?"

"What…?" she whispered, entwining her fingers together in front of her.

"All of your friends would catch you if you would give them the chance," he told her gently, squeezing her shoulders slightly. "But you avoid them more than you talk to them. How do you expect them to help you if you just shove them off at first sight?" Sakura felt her throat constrict and she glanced at the ground, feeling extremely foolish. He was right. Kakashi was always right it seemed. She looked up at him, a large smile on her face, and he sighed with relief. "I was wondering when I'd see you smile again, Sakura."

"Thanks, Kakashi, for that," the cherry headed girl said softly, standing on her toes to kiss his masked cheek. Inner Sakura cheered at her courage for making the first move. "Thank you for everything." She turned around with a resolve to go visit Ino and her husband, but a light touch to her hand made her turn around. The man had pulled back his head band, and cupped her cheek with his hand. She felt her blush returning, and also a new feeling of curiosity. She reached up, and then wavered, before setting her hands on the mask covering the majority of his face. He watched her with his multicolored eyes as she slid her fingers under the soft fabric, but didn't try to stop her as she pulled it down. "I was wondering if I'd ever see your face Kakashi."

He cupped her other cheek and, much to her shock, pressed his lips to hers. _Cha! This totally kicks ass!_ Inner Sakura shouted, punching her fist into the air. Giving in to the feeling she knew was there all along, she melted into the kiss, wrapping her arms around his neck.

Even after a cherry blossom falls, people stand below to catch them as they descend, preserve them, and look at their beauty forever. After the summer, fall, and winter months pass, new blossoms adorn the cherry trees, and their splendor is restored for another few months. It's a never-ending cycle of birth and rebirth, catching and saving and preserving for everyone to enjoy. Sakura had fallen; Kakashi had caught and rescued her, and had preserved her from dying on the ground, and made sure she was kept a striking blossom for everyone to enjoy the company of. Love had been the safeguard, had picked her up and restored the color back in her cheeks, and the shine back into her eyes.

The salvaged cherry blossom watched her rescuer through brightly lit eyes as he whispered to her, "Aishiteru… Sakura."


End file.
